Yemen leader President Saleh suffered 40 per cent burns, say USA

The president of Yemen was far more seriously injured in an attack on his
palace in the capital, Sana'a, than previously stated and suffered burns to
40 per cent of his body with bleeding inside his skull, according to US
officials.

The statement, which was accompanied by a call from Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, for "immediate transition", dealt a significant blow to loyalist hopes that Ali Abdullah Saleh would resume office after a period of convalescence in a Saudi Arabian hospital.

As he recovered from two operations to remove shrapnel and reconstruct his skull, Mr Saleh's hold on power slipped further on Tuesday after fighters from the Sharab and Same tribes, both led by senior military figures, took control of most of Taiz, Yemen's second city.

Mr Saleh's forces shelled residential areas, killing a number of people, including children.

Despite deploying tanks and being reinforced from the air, they were beaten.

Unless pro-regime forces stage a major fightback, Mr Saleh, 69, if he were to return, faces the prospect of a Libya-style situation in which the government controls only a portion of the country with revolutionary forces holding sway in cities such as Taiz.